People have become so terrified of snow and ice. Next we'll hear that they need Google's permission if they are allowed to have a pooh or even have sex. Don't laugh, it'll happen. I can see it in my looking glass.

I can remember many moons ago when many of you were not even an idea in your parents' minds, our weather was pretty awful and it snowed quite heavily even in London. We just got into our cars with skinny tyres and went about our business. In those days the country never came to a halt either. How times have changed. Talk about a Nanny State full of delicate, overweight humanoids who can't think for themselves. Computer says NO, YES, NO.

A friend of mine ordered an A5 in October. My order went in 14th Jan. She took delivery a day before mine!!!

Why does it take 6 months for Audi?

When I was looking to order my current car back in April 2011 Audi had a 10month lead time for 2.0tdi A3 and VW 7months for an equivalent spec Golf....i was led to believe it was to do with them prioritising the Chinese market sales.

As such I ordered a Seat Leon FR which was effectively the same car with a different badge and had it delivered within 9 weeks.

I've ordered an F31 330d M Sport about 10 days ago from (gulp) Central Vehicle Leasing. So far the process has seemed v smooth and they've been pretty communicative. I got an email confirming the order was placed with a dealership about a day after I signed and sent back the order confirmation.

This car will replace the old Audi A3 3.2 quattro (2007), which turned out to be a bit of a 'mare. Haldex busted at a cost of about £3k to repair (that's counting for Audi's contribution to cost - more like £6k if was full whack)

I've had an E87 120d SE and an E61 520d SE - both of which we loved/love. Although they've had their share of issues, it's not anything unreasonable.

The main difference I find though is that the BMWs seem to be so much more refined and 'tight' for what they are. In my example, the A3 3.2 was the top of the range of A3s when it came out, but all the buttons and feel is more like a VW (surprise?). With our 120, which was nowhere near the top of the 1 series range it was so much more comfortable and 'together'. The buttons and controls felt so much nicer. And although I did enjoy some drives in the Audi, in hindsight I'd have preferred a 123d M Sport any day (and was sorely tempted by the new 125d - but with extras the lease cost proved prohibitive).

Re: quattro - winter wheels beat 4x4 on 90% of the roads in this country. Sure the 4x4 will get you going in some situations where a rwd or fwd won't, but they're so few and far between and the key issue is stopping distance (before winter tyres we almost crashed twice in the audi trying to stop - false sense of security etc). Our 5er with winters was completely fine on snowy/icy roads. An A5 on summers struggled and gave up getting up our street (which is a tiny incline) - to be fair so did a mini & some other cars. Our 5er on winters had no issues at all. So I'll be keeping away from X drive too for the foreseeable - extra cost and maintenance for questionable benefit!...